5 Tips for Using Automation in Email Marketing

Automation is an excellent tool for marketers, but keep these things in mind when incorporating automation in email marketing.

I recently wrote about a new marketing trend all supply chain marketers should be paying attention to: marketing automation. One area where marketing automation can be particularly helpful is in email marketing.

Marketing automation software can improve your lead-nurturing process and make you more efficient. It can help you provide more personalized experiences for your prospects through email. It can also save you a significant amount of time, as you won’t have to create individual emails each time a particular prospect takes a particular action.

But be wary. Not everything can, or should, be automated or scheduled in advance. As you begin to incorporate automation in email marketing, here are 5 tips to get you started.

5 tips for using automation in email marketing

1) Segment your email list.

Email list segmentation allows you to customize your subscribers’ experiences by only sending emails to certain people based on different criteria. There are millions of ways to segment your list: when someone joined the list, what emails they’ve opened, their demographics, etc. This way, you can provide the most relevant communication to your prospects, keeping them invested — and keeping you out of their spam folder.

2) Timing is everything.

What you might notice is that segments of your list respond more positively at different times. Automation software allows you to take advantage of that, automating email blasts to correspond with the preferences of your subscribers.

3) Text is your friend.

It’s a sad fact that all that time you spend creating beautifully designed images to accompany your email content is wasted. Most of your subscribers will be using email programs that block out additional images. Focus on providing the most relevant, quality content instead.

4) Narrow down your list.

It might seem great to have a large subscriber list. But it’s the number active subscribers, rather than the total number of subscribers, that matters. Refining your email list should, therefore, be an ongoing process. Good news: It’s a task you can automate.

For example, send a “break up” email to members of your list that haven’t opened your emails in a while. If they don’t reply or open it, it’s safe to remove them from the list. It’s also important to make it easy for subscribers to opt out at any time.

5) Keep your finger on the pulse.

This is all about asking your subscribers what they want. It may seem obvious, but this all-important step is often overlooked. As soon as a new subscriber joins your list, they should be receiving an email asking them why they signed up for your email list. If you pay attention to the answer, you’ll now how to segment the new subscriber, which in turns ensures that they get the most individual experience, and cultivates a lasting relationship.